Chris O’Meara/Associated Press
After leading the Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals, it would seem Nate McMillan has an easy decision to make if he is offered the head coaching job on a permanent basis, but that reportedly isn’t the case for the 56-year-old.
Per veteran NBA reporter Gery Woelfel, McMillan has “some reservations” about being named the Hawks’ head coach going forward.
Woelfel didn’t specify what the reservations are, though he noted it’s not tied to money since McMillan is said to be set from a financial perspective.
McMillan began this season on the Hawks staff as an assistant for Lloyd Pierce. He was named interim head coach on March 1 after Pierce was fired.
Speaking to reporters about the job after he was promoted, McMillan said he was initially reluctant to accept the offer from general manager Travis Schlenk because being a head coach again “wasn’t something I really was going to do.”
McMillan said a conversation with Pierce convinced him to accept the job.
“We had a conversation about the team and the move … and he just felt he didn’t think this would happen but he felt I could step in and do a good job with the team,” McMillan told reporters. “He basically felt I should take this opportunity.”
McMillan came to Atlanta after spending the previous four seasons as head coach of the Indiana Pacers before being fired in August. He led the Pacers to the playoffs in each of those four years, but they never advanced past the first round and were swept three times.
The Hawks completely turned things around with McMillan steering the ship. They went 27-11 under his watch during the regular season and are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015.